A Floral Tank for Spring

The next item up for Lisi Loo's spring wardrobe will also carry nicely into summer as well: a light but layerable sleeveless floral top.

This is the same self-drafted pattern I used for her Christmas dress (as well as several other tops and dresses that haven't ever been properly blogged).  The basic pattern has two necklines (rounded here, squared on the dress) and five sleeve options, including sleeveless.  If I ever do decide to try digitizing patterns, this will definitely be top on my list.

She was in quite the sassy-pants dancy-dance mood for these photos - we're all so excited to FINALLY be getting outside this week, I think we're all in that mood, even if she's the only one bold enough to show it off.

One of my criteria for choosing patterns for this spring wardrobe was that, those that weren't long sleeved, be layerable.  This sleeveless version is so cute under a cardigan, although I failed to get a photo so you'll just have to take my word for it at this time.

There are those sassy-pants I was talking about.

The main fabric was a pillowcase I picked up at an estate sale a while back.  When I was doing all my planning/measuring/drafting/cutting a few weeks ago I must have mis-measured something somewhere along the way because I didn't end up with a long enough skirt to add a thick hem like I usually do, so I used some wide pink bias tape I had in my stash instead.  Problem solved.  

Hooray for Spring!  

KCW - Upcycled Sweater & Ritas

And just like that, KCW is, once again over...but one more outfit first.

The purple was a sweater my mom passed on to me when she no longer wanted it.  The pattern is self drafted, but I cut it out a couple of weeks ago and I thought I had cut my a-line sweatshirt pattern, but it's looking more like a swing tee to me.  No matter.

I had planned on turning the floral to the inside, but once I attached it I loved the match-up so much I decided to leave it showing.  (It's a few scraps of the same fabric I used here.)

The pants are Lovely Rita Skinnies.  I've made these pants so many times in the past, but it was time to size up.  If my memory about something I cut out two weeks ago fails me, then you won't be surprised to hear that I don't remember what size I cut for these that have been sitting around for a couple of months.

I need to figure it out, though, because (other than needing to take in the elastic a little) the fit is pretty great and I have a ton of pants I've been saving for just this purpose.

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - Upcycled Kitty Cat Sweater

Maybe it's nesting, maybe it's just time to clean house, maybe it's the tag sale my mom has roped me into hosting this spring - whatever the reason, I've been on a purging spree.  One beneficiary/victim was Lisi Loo's dresser.  I finally cleaned out all her out of season and too-small clothes and she went from an overflowing to practically bare shirt drawer.  Kids Clothes Week was perfectly timed for me this season.  She got a Lucy Tunic, a floral sweatshirt, and now a "comfy-cosey" (as she would say) and super-cute (as I would) new sweater.

It's my favorite semi-self-drafted long sleeve swing tee pattern.  Previous versions here, here, here, and here.

The main black part was a sweater dress, and the gray at the neck, wrists, and hem is from an old pair of knit shorts.

Embroidery is not a skill I've had much practice in, so don't look too closely, but it's at least recognizable enough that this little lady knows it's a kitty cat.

"Meow!"

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - Upcycled Leotard

Lisi "The Gymnast" Loo has been wearing a couple of ballet leotards (translation: pastel with no shine or sparkle) to her gymnastics classes since she started them last summer.  Now, I am totally fine with these leotards, as was she, UNTIL she switched from the Mommy-and-Me classes to the "big girl" classes at the beginning of the year.  She's in awe of what the other girls show up in - there are sparkles and shine and animal prints in eye-blindingly-bright colors galore.  They hurt my eyes and are way more money than I want to be spending on a three year old's athletic wear.  So, of course, that means making my own.

The pattern is self drafted and based on the leotards she has.  The fabric is some synthetic stuff that was a dress I thrifted a while back.  It was probably thick enough for a single layer, but I fully lined it with black knit from an old shirt that has good stretch and recovery.

This was my first time using fold-over elastic, and I could use a little more practice, but it was as great as everyone says and I'll definitely be using it again - probably to make another leotard.

This whipped up super fast - the most time consuming part was fitting and pinning the elastic.  Oh - and in addition to fold-over elastic, I'm now also a convert to wonder-clips because I've never poked myself as much as I did making this little leotard.  Worth it, though.  She thinks her flowery leotard is just as great as any sparkle or shine out there.

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - Upcycled Sweatshirt (aka Thinking Spring!)

Next up for Kids Clothes Week - Upcycled Edition: a new sweatshirt made from an old sweatshirt (the blue), scraps of an old tee shirt (the green), and bits of a vintage sheet (the floral).

The pattern is self drafted and based on this sweatshirt (still a favorite) that I made last KCW.

I did widen it a little since this sweatshirt fleece has close to zero stretch.  I think I overestimated how much to add, and I wish I had made the bottom a little narrower to compensate, too, but they aren't issues I can't live with.

The sleeves are from the old sheet, as are the flowers I added.  I change my mind about those flowers every three minutes.  Sometimes I think they're the perfect touch; sometimes I think they're cute but not really my style - too much of a stretch for me; sometimes I think they make it look way too home-made.  Any opinions?

When I am liking them, though, I am especially liking that the way they wrap around to the back on the side and over the shoulder.

We've been having some super snowy weather around here lately, with a snow day yesterday and a delay this morning.  Cancellations aren't ideal - only because the last day of school and my due date are right on top of each other and every day they cancel gets tacked onto the end of the year.  Delays, however, are lovely.  Still counts as a school day and gives me a bit of extra time at the start of the day to finish up a project, get the pictures taken, and maybe even start writing a post if things go extra smoothly!  Hooray for Delays!!

Linking up to KCW here.

A Christmas Dress (and some itty bitty news)

We had a pretty rough holiday season over here.  For a couple weeks before Christmas the kids both had these coughs that, while not a big deal, wouldn't quit, so the doctor put them on antibiotics.  Then three days before Christmas my husband got hit (hard) by the flu, and the day before Christmas my body decided it was going to throw up it's hands in surrender to the fight against my sinuses it had been fighting on my behalf.  We survived Christmas and only had to cancel two get-togethers.  While we were all sitting around recuperating on the couch the boy broke out in a crazy rash all over his chest, back, and face that came bearing the festive greeting: "Merry Christmas!  Here's the penicillin allergy we know you've always dreamed of!"  Luckily the only ill-effects he felt were funny looking spots all over his body that cleared up fine.  Dad's close to better.  I'm getting there, too.  Sister was the only family member to come out of the past two weeks unscathed, medically speaking.  She refused to make us dinner, but she was extra sweet and agreeable so I won't hold it against her.

Anyway, all that to say that I'm actually pretty glad the holidays are over.  I'm sad to be glad about it, but it's over, it's behind us, we're moving forward...except for this post which is throwing us back to Lisi Loo's Christmas Dress.

The fabric was a flannel shirt, and the pattern is a self-drafted one that I've made a bunch of times with lots of different sleeve/neckline/skirt length variations but not sure I've ever really posted about.

This particular version has a square neckline, which is a little lower in the back and closes with one big vintage button.  It also has my favorite party sleeves: poofy at the top; poofy at the wrist; poofy wherever I can fit in a little poofiness.

Since I was working with a limited amount of fabric, I didn't have enough length to add the thick hem I like so I brainstormed and remembered some wide velvet ribbon in my stash (yay stash!!) that worked perfectly as a facing.

To avoid any nightgown similarities, I added this fabric flower broach I've had kicking around for a few years and she was enamored so I think a few more in various colors are on my to-make list...once my head feels like my own again, that is.

Lastly, and not Christmas Dress related, we had some itty bitty news we made an itty bitty announcement about over the holidays that you may have seen an itty bitty post about if you follow us on instagram...but if not, we've got an itty bitty baby scheduled to make her appearance in June!  Everyone is very excited.  Lisi Loo's going to be a great big sister but so far is barely mildly interested. Her brother, on the other had, has a lot more questions that he had last time around, and I'm not sure we're going to make it through this pregnancy with simple placations about how this kid got in my belly, and even more so how it's going to get out.  Wish me luck!  With those conversations...and all the rest, too, of course!

Hope all your holidays were happy, healthier than ours, and here's to a fabulous new start and new year!

A Thanksgiving Dress

Lisi Loo got a new dress for Thanksgiving.  I had planned on having it finished a couple days early, photographing it, and having the post ready to go up Thursday for (our American) Thanksgiving.  Then I decided to hem the (very very gathered) skirt by hand.  Needless to say, the dress was not ready in advance, but the results?  Worth it.

The bodice is based on my self-drafted scoop back dress - shortened, sleeves added, and back raised enough to fit two buttons.  Unfortunately, I forgot to adjust the shoulders for the addition of sleeves (I should have widened them a bit) and didn't realize until after I had cut out the bodice.  I was worried the dress would be constantly slipping off her shoulders, and I'll admit they did a few times - but they popped right back up on their own.  Crisis averted.

It would have been kind of a crisis, too, because the bodice was made from an old short-sleeved sweater of mine, and I didn't have an inch to spare.  The buttons originally went about halfway down the front, but I cut the back of her dress from the front, the front from the back, and the sleeves from the bottom of the sweater.

The sleeves were another lucky break.  I didn't want short sleeves (it's chilly here in November!), and didn't have enough sweater for long sleeves, so I just cut them as long as I could and hoped they would be a stylish three-quarter length, not an awkward where-did-the-rest-of-her-sleeve-go length.  I suppose I could have measured, but what's a little holiday sewing without some mystery and nail-biting?  The bodice is also lined with some nice thick stretchy white knit from an old t-shirt.

The skirt...THE. SKIRT.  It's three layers - all gathered ridiculously and I'm so giddy about it.  I was originally going to pleat the outer skirt (actually, I did pleat it and then was so excited about what I'm about to share that I took it off, gathered, and reattached it) and gather the two underskirts together to add a little volume.  I tried out this method for gathering on my serger.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you it had changed my (sewing) life.  I've been anti-gathering for a while now, mostly because I'm pretty particular about getting my gathers even and I found the process to be really tedious.  This method was FAST and EVEN and EASY and I'm never going back.  Never ever.  Okay, enthusiasm coming back down to normal levels now.

The main skirt fabric was picked up at an estate sale last spring.  I have no idea what the content is, but it has white warp threads, and orange weft for a chambray look.  There is also a T design woven in that adds a lovely detail and keeps it from looking too peachy.  The underskirts are from my mom's old curtains.

Lisi Loo doesn't very often have an opinion on her clothes at this point (and I know what a lucky mama that makes me) but both days since she's requested to wear her "Tankstiving" dress before she even says good morning.  

Like I said up top: worth it.

Match with Me: Mother-Son Sewing Series with Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

All this week Stacey of Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy is hosting a sewing series about Mother-Son sewing - and I'm so excited to be joining in on the fun with some pretty awesome sewing mothers-of-boys!  We didn't go for matching, but more coordinating.  We each got a new sweater and a new infinity scarf and we're ready for fall.

When I received Stacey's email and invitation to join, I went through a variety of emotions.  First: I felt so flattered!  I made sure to say "YES" right away before... Second: I felt nervous and overwhelmed and what-did-I-get-myself-into, so... Third: I got ambitious and picked out several new-to-me patterns to purchase and put yards and yards of lovely fabric in my cart.

Then reality took hold.  Both my kids have October birthdays, plus birthday parties, plus Halloween.  It all adds up pretty quickly and I didn't think my kids would look favorably on a blog post in place of birthday presents this year, so I needed a new game plan - it was time to get thrifty.  I headed to Goodwill and, after quite a bit of digging, found two gray sweaters and a couple of coordinating blouses in seasonal colors and I think my total bill was about $15.  That I knew I could swing.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any good before pictures.  I tried, but they turned out terrible and aren't very helpful, so please engage your imaginations.  We'll start with the kid.  I grabbed a men's xs v-neck cardigan with the intention of taking it apart, cutting it down, and reassembling it to be basically the same sweater but smaller, but when I was putting everything in the wash and reviewing the 100% wool care label I decided, on a whim, to try shrinking it down first.  It worked great!  The arm and body width shrunk to the perfect size so I just turned the bottom up a couple times and used my twin needle to hem, and removed the sleeves at the shoulder, shortened them a few inches from the top, and reattached them.

My sweater was a XL men's sweater in cotton.  I liked the sleeve and overall length but needed to take it in A LOT, which I did on the sides and the sleeves.  I also prefer a scoop neck instead of the existing crew neck so I cut off the original neck band and used some knit scraps and my twin needle to bind the new neckline.

My original idea was to use some big flannel shirts to make some cozy fall infinity scarves that incorporated the buttons for some extra detail, but there was a surprising lack of flannel at the thrift store so I expanded my search.  I found my vintage floral blouse first and fell in love with the orange-black-gray thing going on.  My son's scarf was a woman's plus-sized blouse, orange with black stitching.  They're both lined in basic black knit from my stash.

Thanks to Stacey for inviting me to join in on this fun series - it was such a wonderful idea and has filled my head with more ideas for clothes for my boy, as well as myself!

KCW - One more Sweatshirt

Look at me - eeking out one more KCW garment!  I was just so happy with how the last sweatshirt turned out, I wanted to try another version.  This one turned out a little differently because the fabric I used has more drape to it - it's my second favorite of the two, but still something I predict will get a lot of wear:

The fabric is the same reversible fabric I used for this Aster cardigan.  I really wanted to use the striped side this time to mix it up but I just love dots too much.  Can't say no to a good dot even if maybe I should.

The striped side did make an appearance in the semi-circle cut-out pockets.  If there's a more official name for them, I don't know it, but I'm pretty sure you understand what I'm describing.

It's actually a kangaroo pocket - it goes all the way across the front - intended for hands meeting in the middle, but we're still working on mastering that one.

I like the stiffer sweatshirt fabric better for this top, since it really shows off the shape, and will probably make another one when I get my hands on some appropriate fabric.  I'm really liking the idea of sweatshirt knit main with a woven pocket fabric.  We'll see, won't we?

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - A-line Sweatshirt

The concept for this sweatshirt developed as a way to use some more of the awesome ruffle fabric from yesterday's leggings.  As I searched my stash, though, I didn't find a main fabric that coordinated in a way I liked with the pink and white.  I decided I was more excited about making a sweatshirt than I was about using the ruffles (for now) so I regrouped and grabbed a pair of Daddy's old sweatpants and a different knit scrap I had on hand.  This is where we ended up:

The pattern is self drafted.  It's mostly long sleeved swing tee up top, with a bottom that's about halfway between swing tee and little zippy.

The heart was reverse appliqued to the sweatshirt.  I used an extra layer of white knit behind the stripes to help add a little weight since the sweatshirt fabric is so much thicker.  I just kind of made it up as I went and (thankfully) it worked out perfectly!  Phew!

Instead of just folding them over, I decided to try binding the neck and hemline with some more of the striped knit and it worked nicely.  I also broke out my twin needle for the first time in probably a year.  I kept getting frustrated about not being able to get my tension set correctly.  The back thread, which is supposed to weave back and forth, and so provide a little flexibility to the stitches, would be almost straight.  So no stretch and lots of snapped threads.  Then I read somewhere, at some point, that you can adjust the tension of your bobbin.  I had no idea!  Did you?  So I loosened the screw on the bobbin case a little, played around with my tension adjustment on my machine, and voila!  My twin needle did its job like a pro.

Also...how amazing is her hair?  This is second day straightened hair - even more amazing than first day.  Ugh - I feel so guilty for feeling jealous, but c'mon.  Look at it!  Ha!

Sadly, this will likely be my last KCW post for this season.  I've got to get going on the other costume but there's no sewing involved.  Boo.

Linking up to KCW here.